I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Pencader. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Pencader conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Pencader. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Pencader.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Pencader. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Pencader where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Pencader conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Pencader conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Pencader conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Pencader conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Pencader Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

The answer will be useful as a) areas may result in problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will need to know about it It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and may well materially impact the level of the maintenance costs or result in a one off invoice. The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees have control and even though a managing agent is frequently retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pencader